Bitcoin: a break above $12,118 looks likely

The cryptocurrency picked up bids during the Asian trading hours, rising from $11,750 to $12,068, according to CoinDesk’s Bitcoin Price Index. At press time, bitcoin is trading at $12,000 – just 1% short of the 2020 high of $12,118 reached on Aug. 2. A break above $12,118 looks likely, as bullish demand can be seen in the strong hourly volume that continues to rise with bitcoin’s hike in value. If bitcoin manages to surpass the $12,118 level, the next target would be the high of $12,325 reached early in August 2019.

Bitcoin ended last week (Sunday, UTC) at $11,683 – the highest weekly close since January 2018 (see chart above right). That has has opened the doors for further gains, according to some analysts. The options market is also skewed bullish, with call options (bullish bets) drawing higher prices than puts (bearish bets) on the one, three, and six-month time frames. Crypto investment firm Three Arrows Capital’s co-founder Kyle Davies said Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem could be another catalyst bolstering bitcoin’s recent rally.

Bitcoin, however, looks vulnerable to a potential bounce in the U.S. dollar, having recently developed a relatively strong negative correlation with the greenback. Bitcoin jumped from $9,100 to $12,118 in the 13 days to Aug. 2, as the dollar index, which tracks the value of USD against major currencies, fell from 96 to a 26-month low of 92.55.

Bitcoin Closes on Yearly High With Return to $12K, CoinDesk, Aug 10